Grain blower



Sept. 20, 1949. H. c. WALLACE GRAIN BLOWER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 29, 1946 Sept. 20, 1949. H. c. WALLACE GRAIN BLOWER 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 29, 1946 Sept. 20, 1949. H. c. WALLACE GRAIN BLOWER 5 Shee ts-Shee't 5 Filed April 29, 1946 a QW H ValZaoa Patented Sept. 20, 1949 V v 21482,?23 V GRAIN BLOWER r Halbert Clwallacefl argo,NJDik.

Application- April29, 194sjsern1 Noies'snss eclaims. (01 eozesr) -The :present inventionrelates to improvements in grain elevators and "more particularly to a pneumatic grain elevating apparatus. r @Gne of'theobjects thereof is' to 'p'r ovidea simple, e'fiicient and inexpensive device adapted to receive grainthereinto an'd bythe application of an air .cushioning forced air draft to the grain, efi'ect its carriage upwardly throug-h'the machine into a dischargeachute'.

Another object thereof "to-provide aJg'rain elevating apparatus in which the desirable char- -acter-istics of sturdiriess, -rliab'ility, "compactness and lightnessare found.

Aiurther-objectthereof is to.pr'ovide a-grain elevatingapparatusin which.a'b1astof air is -made use of: in accomplishing the lifting action oi the grain, in suchamanner thatan air cushion is already formed=uponwhich the grain is received before air.-pressure carries the-grain out of thereceptacle. 1

Another object thereof is .to provide a grain elevating-apparatus which is adapted to 1ift-a steady charge of grain depositeddnto the-machine, -i-n sucha manneras-not toinjure anypart thereof due to violent impact therewith. I

Another object thereof-isto providea grain elevating apparatus which is so shaped, constructed and arranged-thata relatively small, light blower fan -may :be caused to progressively re- 'ceive, positionand carry away in'a blast of airpassing out-of =:the apparatus,=the-;grain deposited into the latter.

'Astill further object is-to rprovide-meansfor pneumatically discharginggrain from a grain receiving receptacle into 'a delivery chute in which use is made of a principle of assembly of blower fan and grain-and air-deliveringinstrumentalities which assures I proper positioning 2 of the grain in the receptacle so that *acted uponby-theblades -of the blower fan, thedeposited-grain may not only-bethrown towards the bottom of thedeviee, :but lifted inta blast of air into =-the delivery chute on anair cushionthat keepsseparated the valuablegrain fibers and prevents'crushing or mutilation of any part thereof.

' Another object thereof; is to* construct a grain elevating apparatus,-consistingof-a blower casing andgrain-discharge chute leading from its upper zone, in such a mannerthat one'hemisphere' of the cylindrical blower casing is devoted to-dep'ositing the grain therein vby gravity before subjected to ran blades "duringrota'tio'n" er the blower ran in the 'casing. As "a ,"result'off this separation of loadinsane dischargingzfonesforthe deposited grain, *it is possible to locate the air intake which supplies air in the casing to support the blast of air tt'rere'in contiguously to "the lower part of the apparatus. "This imposesupon the fan "blades "'o'peratiriginthe firsflnafr'nedhernis'phere of the fan casingonlytheiiincti'on of receiving ac'onti'nuo'us depositprogressivelyfof grain, and throwing the same downwardly towards "thejbottom of th'ebasin'gto a pointwherepreceding fan blades have already created an air cushion for'same, due "to traversingthe"airintakeof the'casi'ng. Depositing "of the "grain by certain: fan blades upon theair cushion made 'byother fan blades takes successively ino'fieheniisphere 0f the easing, so that the fan blades niovir'i'g' upwardly in the "other hemisphere perform the duty "of blowing out the air-cushioned grain with untranimeled fficincy. p

anoth r objectthereof is to'provid'e, in a device of "the kind described, improved hopper means designed along lines that assure "depositing into thecentral partofithehlower casing, from opposite sides thereof atthe"sametime, "and in substantially the same measure, under influence of gravity, the grain supplied-to "thehopper means so no part oi the device can become" unduly clogged or hampe're'd in fun'ctidn.

V pa-runner object thereof is to"provide, in a'device 'off'tliek'ind described, improved hoppermeans b virtue or which itis "providedwitha mouth that fez'rtends'slightly fabove th'e' to'p peripheral surface 'of 'th'e blower"casingjtc besiipplied with grain by said hopper means. The arrangement of the moiith'of the hopper "means, whereby it intersects the cross-sectional area of the blower casing,

. causes itt'o have "op ositely arranged grain in- 40 troducing "parts "opening into opposite sides of the 'blower casing, and at the same time 00- operates with oppositely inclined baifle plates 'Ioc'a'ted inits -nioiith,wh'ich 'iite'iid downwardly into "the body of I the hopper means. -'-I he consequence of such arrangement is, that the grain delivered into the mouth of "the hopper means is -evenly dividedby 'such' bafileiplates so that half is sent downintothe center of the interior thereof from. one sided tr ceasing and the other half sent down into the centerof the-interior of the casing-fromthe-other sideyso that the blades of {the blower 'fan receive grain evenly distributed transversely thereof.

:A final object thereof is to sprovide, in-a device f the kind described, oppositely arranged grain delivering hoppers which introduce grain into the center of the blower casing from opposite sides thereof, and which also introduce outside air into the casing at a point below the point of admission of the grain into the casing. To assist gravity in moving the grain automatically down the hoppers without clogging same, each hopper tapers vertically from top to bottom transversely of the sides of the casing, as well as in a plane at right angles thereto. To assist the fan blades in their air-cushioning function in connection with the grain admitted by these hoppers, they are located to one side of the vertical medial line of the blower casing so as to discharge air into the bottom of the casing in a downward stream to a point where the fan blades form the air cushion.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the combination, arrangee ment and details of construction disclosed in the drawings and specifications and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings wherein similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout the respective views,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention shown mounted upon a grain delivering vehicle,

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the vehicle shown in Figure 1, parts being broken away.

Figure 3 is a side view of my invention somewhat enlarged,

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional elevation of my invention,

Figure 5 is a cross sectional elevation of my invention, taken on line 5-5 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a top plan view of my invention,

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional elevation taken on line 1--'| of Figure 4,

Figure 8 is a longitudinal section taken on line 8-8 of Figure 4,

Figure 9 is a side elevation of my invention equipped with a conveyer system for loading it with grain laying loosely upon the floor of a building or the ground,

Figure 10 is a detail view, in top plan, of gearing for driving an auger feed in a conveyor system, and

Figure 11 is a fragmental detail view showing the auger grain feed.

Referring to the drawings, which are merely illustrative of my invention, the various parts thereof are disclosed. The present invention consists of a specially shaped blower casing with reference to the hopper means employed to introduce grain into the casing; a specially shaped hopper, and various arrangements for mounting it upon, or with reference to, a source of grain supply.

The blower casing is cylindrical in configura tion, designated l0, and the hollow interior thereof is indicated at l I. At the top of the casing, in the left vertical hemisphere thereof, indicated by the arrow A in Figure 4, it is formed. with the grain discharge opening l3, a nipple formation l2 being here provided upon it, to connect to the discharge chute hereinafter described. The casing ill, in hemisphere A thereof has a perpendicular wall l4 disposed in axial alignment ith nipple l2.

The means for depositing grain into the apparatus is so constructed and arranged relatively to the blower casing l0 that it is intended to taper from top to bottom, not only transversely of hemisphere B of the casing shown in Figure 4, but in a plane at right angles thereto at its lower plane, as shown in Figure 7. Reference will also be made to Figure 6 which shows a top plan view of the grain depositing means. From Figure 6 it is seen that the cross-section of each of the hoppers C and D denoted in Figure 6, which are arranged on opposite sides l5 and. I6 of the easing It, is rectangular. The two hoppers C and D have a common mouth E denoted in Figure '7. This mouth E of the grain depositing means is formed by means of the oppositely spaced apart parts 24 and of opposing walls of each separate hopper as is illustrated in Figure 6, which ex- "tend above the top peripheral surface of the blower casing ID as is shown in Figure 4. In Figure 4 it is seen that the lower end of these hoppers extend, as at l1, to a point below the center of the casing Ill.

The downwardly extending taper of the outer end wallof each hopper is broadly designated [8 in Figure 8. This outer shell or wall of the hopper C or D is designated I9, 20 respectively. The upper part thereof, as shown in Figures 5 and 7, is disposed parallel to side wall IE or 16 of the casing Ill. The lower part thereof, at [8, 18a respectively, inclines downwardly and inwardly so as to be closed at the lowermost extremities of the hoppers against the. adjacent surfaces of the casing ill. The downwardly extending taper of the hoppers C or D, as far as its position transversely of the hemisphere B of the casing is concerned, is shown in Figure 4, where it is seen that its wide part 2| is at its upper end and its narrow part 22 is at its lowermost end. Figure 8 also discloses this taper in top plan, as does Figure 6. The upper parts of the hoppers, in the zone of their common mouth E (Figure '7), is attached by means of angle irons to the bottom of a grain loading body, the vertical webs of the angle irons [9a, 2011., being attached to the sides I9, 20 of the hoppers, while the horizontal parts I91), 2%, are attached to the grain loading body. InFigure 3 it is seen that the upper part 23 of each hopper is in the same plane with the discharge end of the blower casing 10, while their lower ends 22 project below the lowest point of the discharge means for grain out of the casing into the grain receiving chute.

In FigureG it is seen that grain entry compartments 26 and 21' are provided by the hoppers laterally of the casing I0, this being also shown in Figure 7 where these compartments are shown to communicate with the mouth E which is common to both hoppers C and D. These compart- 3 ments are also formed in a plane with the top peripheral surface 28a of the drum or casing [0 shown in Figure 4. For the purpose of evenly dividing the charge of grain delivered into the mouth E of the apparatus, a pair of oppositely extending bafiie plates 28, 29 are provided at the upper plane of the casing l0. These baffle plates 28, 29 connect at their apex 30. Their shape is best seen in Figure 4, being triangular, with a curved outline for the hypothenuse thereof. This is produced because the lower edges of these plates coincide with the adjacent arc 28a of the top peripheral surface of the casing I0. Their rear walls form the angular topmost ends of walls 19, 20 of the hoppers, while their top is the apex edge 3!] shown in Figure '7. The oppositely extending baflie plates 28 and 29 incline in opposite directions as shown in Figure '7, so as to diverge downwardly. Their apex ridge 3!! is exactly at the center of the casing III. From this arrangement of baffle plates 28, 29, with relation to the mouth E of the hopper, it is seen that the grain introduced into this mouth of the apparatus is amazes -evenly-dividediandrcausedrto slide down .ithese bafil-e plates :flOWniilitO .the hoppers 'under :influsence of :gravity. :It zrnay be "found desirable T130 elose the'mouthrE of Itheapparatus. 'In;Figure"4 :is shownson'e or two tracks '3! provided at opposite .pointsrofith-eihopper upon walls L9 andrzll fthereof, iito support 'the opposite :marginal "parts .of :a slidable sgate -33 :which isrhorizontallydis- ZjPOSGd fib 1 the I uppermost part :32 of the .mouthE, upon whiohsitrbears at one point as itslides, and 'by which it is raised 'slightlyabove the :tracks :23l,itherebytrequiring.formation of the lip 347011 the gate 33 which supports the "gate upon-the etra-cksiil.

The grain -delivering body has a grain-entry islot;=35:formed therein upon its bottom member 31%, .as shown: in Figure '4. In order to guide and -dire.ct 'the gr-ain entering from slot 35 -into both ihoppersC and :D-by reason of bafile plates28, .29, so that thegrainiis, under influence of --graviity, {deposited {at the proper places inside of the -casingtfor :ai-r cushioning ;by the blades of the i-blnwer fan-therei-n,'-I provide oppositely'arranged, :downwardly ,extending diagonally disposed .ba-flle 'zplatesifl-j-andi3-8respectively. In Figure -7,'it is ;seen 'howigtheir inner-ends are secured against parallel walls;I 9,-.2.0 of the hoppers C and D, while -their:lowermost ends are secured to the Walls -l-5 iandelfionsopposite sides of thecasingifl. These walls J5 andzliiof the casing mare formed centrally with-ivertical-slots 3.9,til respectively. The lower ends of bafile plates 37, 38 coincide with walls i-Sgand -l:acrossthe*full Width of vertical :-=slot-.*39:or-llU-of casing H1, in such a mannerthat the 'majorrportion of the lengthof the slots exitt-ZHdSrQbOVEfthBlOWBI parts of baflie'plateswhile 'Tt'hfi minor gportions of the slots-extend below-the .baiile plates to provide air admission ports 4Ia "andA-Zahere, asshown in Figure 7. The-lower ends of lbafile iplates 31, 38 are slightly below-the :center or-axis of rotation of the blower fandn themasing i0, and they cause grain admission 2 ports a or passages i to exist at the upper planes of vertical slots '39, 40 centrally ;'Of the casing ID. The :lower parts of the parallel walls i9, '20 of ithe hoDpBrs-C and D are-formed witheair intake yportsfii and 42. The downwardlyincliningbaf- -fle plates 31, 38 andwa'l1s-t8, 68a, ofthe'hoppers provide between themselves diagonally disposed .air passagewayswla -andzw which open out into .ai-rintake-ports M, &2. 25a and "21a denote the gravity course followed by the grain passing throughzthe-hoppers enroute to'the blades of the blower :fan.

xfThe zblower ;fan has .a snug rotary fit in the casing IB. In :Figure 4 it is seen that ashaft 43 passes through the center of the cylindrical :casing 4:0, throughitheside walls [5,15 thereof, laterally of the inner perpendicular Walls 24thereof, zwhichhas-opposing parts journaled in bearings 43a operatively fixed .in position upon the apparatus equipped .with,my invention. .Aispider .is made :fast-by itslcollar M and spline 315 en- ,gaged therewith upon shaft'43. rAcircumferentially extending series vof radially disposed 7 arms .46 of the spider have the innerparts of .fiat blades A! secured thereupon by .means .of the fasteners I48. Thebladesare freeto. sweep alongwith their outer edges-theinner circumference of the .casing Hi. .Shaft 4.3.is rotated in a, clockwise direction as will hereinafter appear. It .is provided, exteriorl of the casing, .With a drive pulley Mia.

.From Figure .4, itis seen that .the grain discharge chute mayihaveits usual bottom flange fi labutfin the top or the member. 36. Thehorir'zontalzflanges 49ml the-rectangular aangleiiron i frame seatagainst thebottomvo'fz the-:memberflt. fi'lhexvertical :fianges 'lare vrfitted saround snippl-e "I52 rof itheacasing $.10. nibeltfifi (Figure :11) is aztnained. over-:pulleyfififla-onnshaftv43,:-andalso upon sazpul-leyril amadeiiast: upon az shaftz-52i-operatively immunized imposition upon ther'apparatus equipped iWiti'l m'yiinvention. fThis grain zdischa-rgingzchute iusually, is made .upiin sections, such as the up- :LO right section 55 directly carrying out :the -grain :from easing .110, {upright section r56- coupled;onto sectionriw atits-lower endsand-toa curved chute 5368131011 :57 atdts impenend, with z a horizontally Yeleflected: chute section-58 leadin 'laterallyrofthe grain levat-or. I

War the purpose 'of giving access into the .initerator-1H of-xcasing I50,With0ut disturbing theredationship 10f anyof theparts of the present-apipa-ratus, a door Bil ,isiprovided shown i-nzFigure-i i.

..It lis of .a-rcuate'formation, having its inner ;,part

=operatively hingedvatiifi tothe-casing HI. It is designed-to closean opening 590, formed at the .bottomof easing. I'll. opposite end of the-door -lfiiflih-as a flange BI =of anzangleiron seeure'dby :iasteners 3 :thereto, the other right angular 1 flange thereof, 62 "having :a hole into which .is i passed a screw bolt -64 ;carried by a flange 6 1 of .--an anglexiron-which has a right angular flange wfifisattached toithe casing t0. The-.boltfl passes 30 into flange .5 I and fian'gee-fi 2 ,-with:-its"head1abut- ,ting flangem .so that :a hut =65 threaded .upon this beltzmaybelclamped-against flange G'hand in this manner hold the door r60 closed.

Na'rious .ways exist in which it vmay .be found 3 5 desirable-ta mount my: invention; dependin upon -.the.,-sit1lation.in .which-it-is-to be used. Thus, .inliigure :1, it -is shown attachedto the rbottom .of' the loadingttruck 63 whoseibottom connection to the; mouth- -E. of z the :apparatus is-shown in :Fig- 40 .ure- Ltthe bottom of thevehicle beingden-oted-at .36. ,Bor-the pnrpose'of regulating the'introduc- \tion .of grain .from iinside-,of,-the truck 458, before sit-.enters theblower casing 'w slidegate r-3,3,-a-l- .ireadyldescribed hasibeen supplied, which carries :aneoperatinglhandle 33a. ;My.apparatus 'isat- \tached relativelyl-to-tthis vehicle-.by-aids of-a hanger,

[the imposing verticalsstrapr iron. arms H1 of which have outturnedflanges .11 which are attached by Iiasteners :12 to the=underside of the truck'body "36. Upon the horizontally-extendingpart of-this hanger, 111a, .carried by arms 10, is operatively secured thebearingior-theshaft43 of the blower .fan.

- .Itnmaybe desirable toi-arrange for'a'mounting .kof mydnvention inconnection with use of the machine .with ran .auger 'con-veyer, resting upon .thelfloor of a.building,:or-else-upon the;gr0und, rfor \tramferring a load of grain here -,upwardly ,into {the :mouthrof the machine. This :is shown ,60 indiligdiI-ee..-9,Flue-rid. :11. 5In.th i'ccnstructionhere shown a .complete grain delivering machine ;-is disclosed, consisting of :means for .-moving grain -i-upwardlylintothemachine, and;means for lifting the,grain-out=of :the machine into a grain chute 5.455 .extendingupwardly tfromi-thezmachine.

The :machine a-is mounted :upon :a sub-structure ,frame= composed of the corner legs I14 zwhichssupport a rrectangular iframe having bars -13 con- 118611841420 theynpper aends of ithe degs M. Operartively secureduponthe frameat I5 is-the bearing 43a secured=by fasteners llsb thereto centrally.

. This :makes a :strong pedestal :for vsurmounting the blower basing rigidly, with its superimposed .grainidischarge-z-chute. ,Apost 15 has its lower K755161151 iangularly disposed, as-at 1:1, f being secured by fasteners 18 upon the beam I upo'n'whieh bearing 43a is also mounted. The upper part of this post I6 has an angular lug 19 which is secured by fasteners 88 directly to the chute 8| which extends downwardly from the machine. Chute 8| rests with a lowermost foot 83 upon the ground or else upon the floor of a building. Its upper end is formed with a vertical depending spout 8 la for discharging grain directly into the mount E of the machine.

Chute 8| is preferably a tubular body whose bore is denoted at 82. It is closed at its lowermost end as at 89, which part has a nipple 98 acting as a bearing for one end of a shaft 8| which extends longitudinally upwardly into the chute 8|. A suitably shaped hopper 84 has inclining walls 85 that direct grain into the chute 8| through its upper opening 85a. This chute is designed also to pick up grain shoveled or otherwise, present in the vicinity of its lower opening 86. This opening 88 is adapted to be closed when the chute 8| is not in use, by means of a closure member 88. This closure member has oppositely arranged outturned flanges 8? formed on its oppositely curving sides which overlap the oppositely curving sides of the chute. These flanges slidably ride upon outturned flanges I8| formed upon side plates I8Ia secured by bolts I8Ib to opposite sides of the chute. The closure member 88 hangs upon flanges [8| slidably with its bottoms slidably engaging the bottom of the chute. It may thus be slid along the chute upon flanges IM to cover or uncover the lower opening 86 of the chute. Member 88 has a toe 83 adapted to rest the lowermost end of the chute on.

Shaft 9| carries an auger 92 whose several vanes extend upwardly from end to end of the chute 8|. Chute BI is formed at its upper end with a nipple or shaft bearing 88a through which the free end of shaft 9| extends. Made fast upon this shaft SI in advance of the bearing 98a is a miter gear which meshes with a similar gear 94 mounted in a bearing 84a formed on a bracket member 91 having an offset flange 98 overlying the chute and secured thereto by fasteners 89. Shaft 9|, in advance of miter gear 93 is also received in a bearing 85 carried by the right angular arm 88 of the bracket member Bl. On the shaft carrying miter gear 94 is a pulley I88 for driving this miter gear.

The use and operation of my invention is as follows. From whichever type of delivery apparatus the grain is to be delivered into mouth E of the blower casing I8, when the grain enters this mouth through the effective area thereof in a steady line of passage into the machine, the grain therein will be evenly divided when it falls upon the oppositely inclined bafile plates 28 and 29. The motor has been set in rotation in the casing I8, and the fan therein is rotating steadily. Since the blades of this fan move downwardly in the vertical right hemisphere B of the casing I8, while they move upwardly in the left vertical hemisphere thereof, and since the air intake openings lla and 42a are located at the bottom of the casing, there is no appreciable down draft of air in the right hemisphere of the apparatus, so no retarding influence exists at the mouth of the 1atter against a gravity feed of the grain down into passages 28a, 21a of the hoppers C and D.

7 Due to the fact that the hoppers taper and converge downwardly, the grain sliding down the inside bafile plates 31 and 38, and down the inclined walls of the hoppers eifect an easy entrance into the central zone of the interior of the casing I8 as same emerge through grain admission ports 39, 48. The grain will thus be deposited on both opposite sides of the casing I8 at the same time, and will, under influence of gravity, move transversely inside of the casing, falling upon the blades of the fan in an evenly measured quantity. The moment the fan blades 41 of the blower fan impinge against the grain thus deposited centrally in said casing I8, they set to throw the grain in a loose state down into the bottom of the casing, as the blades successively make a traverse vertically of the grain admission ports 39, 48.

While this is taking place, while the grain in two divided charges is coming down the hoppers into the casing, certain blades of the fan which is rotating clockwise, have already, in advance of the falling grain, pushed or thrown by preceding fan blades, traversed vertically the zone of the air admission ports Ma, 42a of the casing, in moving downwardly. As the fan is rotating fast, an air cushion is created opposite the falling grain and in the path of movement thereof to the bottom of the casing I8. Upon this air cushion falls the grain, and now the blast of air created by the blades of the fan in the left vertical hemisphere of the casing, moving upwardly therein, is effective to lift the aircushioned grain upwardly in this hemisphere and out of the casing I8 into the discharge chute of the machine made up of sections 55, 56, 51, 58, etc. as shown in Figure 9.

The grain reaching the lower part of the casing I8 necessarily undergoes contraction in bulk due to the tapering construction of the hoppers, but the air intake ports Ha, 42a also taper so that the air entering the casing from the entrance ports 4|, 42 disposed centrally :of the machine, takes a diagonally downward course from outside the hoppers directly to the bottom of the inside of the casing. Air is thus injected under some degree of pressure caused by the fan blades in rotation, and due to the suction created by the upwardly moving blades of the fan in advance of the discharge points of the incoming air. Therefore, air is scooped up by the blades just leaving downwardly moving and about to enter upwardly moving positions. This air is distributed among the particles of grain individually in such a manner that these particles are nicely separated and ride with the air cushion sup- .port upwardly out of casing. The blast of air is strong enough to lift the light particles to a high level above the machine in the grain discharge chute so that when the grain emerges out of the outlet of this chute it may be deposited upon a given floor or a building.

Where the auger is used to fill the machine at its top with grain, pulley I88 is set in motion, which rotates the auger. An operator may shovel grain into the top hopper 84 of the machine, or shovel same along the ground into the bottom opening 86 thereof, or else the operator of the machine can so set the pedestal supporting the blower casing as to cause grain automatically to bear down by gravity adjacent opening 88, so the suction created by the rotating auger may pull grain into this opening to be carried by the auger vanes upwardly of chute 8| and downwardly out of its nozzle 8 la into the mouth E of the machine.

The present machine may be driven either by belt from a shaft or directly from the power take off of the vehicle carrying same. On some forms of trucks the power takeoff goes in one direction,

and in others it goes in an opposite direction. The blower is made so that the power can be taken from either end of the fan shaft, as in Figure all it is necessary to do is to locate the pulley 5011 on either end of shaft 43. This makes the blower reversible so that if the power is taken from one side the fan will run in one direction, and the opposite is true when it is turned around.

It is desired, further, to fasten the blower to the floor of the truck by inserting bolts M (Fig. 3) through the flange at the top of the blow-er.

I do not mean to confine myself to the exact details of construction disclosed herein but will cover :all parts set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A grain blower comprising a fan housing having vertical side walls, a horizontally disposed shaft rotatable within said housing at right angles to said side walls, radially extending fan blades secured to said shaft, a hopper disposed above said housing including a pair of downwardly convergent side walls forming a grain guiding passage on each side of said housing and fixed to said housing side walls below said shaft and. adjacent to the vertical projection thereof, an opening formed in each of said housing side walls adapted to communicate said grain guiding passages with the interior of said housing for admitting grain into the latter, an air duct carried by each of said downwardly convergent side walls opening into said f an housing below said grain admitting openings, a common inlet mouth for said hopper, and a sliding valve carried by said 7 inlet mouth.

adapted to communicate said grain guiding pas sages with the interior of said housing for admitting grain into the latter, an air duct carried by each of said hopper side walls opening into said fan housing below said grain admitting openings, a common inlet mouth for said hopper, up- 'wardly convergent baffle plates in said hopper for dividing the grain therein equally between said grain guiding passages on opposite sides of said fan housing, and a sliding valve carried by said mouth.

HALBERT C. WALLACE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,289,756 Hayward et al. Dec. 31, 1918 1,535,363 Wallace Apr. 28, 1925 2,405,094 Michael July 30, 1946 2,411,490 Williams Nov. 19, 1946 

